Nick, this is a great post! I like the postive energy that surrounds your thoughts and I find it much more on the money than the recent flurry of publicity related to Bob Sutton's book, THE NO ARSEHOLE RULE .

McKinsey has twice now in their newsletter focused on the idea, No Jerks, which grew out of Sutton's book and a leadership principle authored by Lars Dalgaard of http://www.successfactors.com.


I think at this point it is a bit overdone. And this statement comes from someone, who historically has been a Pfeffer/Sutton Groupie.

However, I findwhen people do not behave, it is an opportunity to really investigate what is hidden. I find most people have good intention and that the stress we all work with these days can grow out of bad performance and bad behavior. As a leader, I believe , it is our job to question bad behavior and at the same time it is my job to find out what is behind that bad behavior (bad intention) or frustration with the inability to perform well in a job, because the budget, leadership and direction do not support high performance.

I don't often see leaders ask the question, "What is hidden behind bad behavior or "displaced emotions".

What I hold in high regard from our brief conversations and other, is that you ask those questions.

So I would like to suggest since you are person who stops and thinks, that rather than focusing on "spreading positive vibes," and leading with the invitation to treat people well, you think about this question:



"What could change in health care if people just took the time to have meaningful and productive conversations, rather than operating out because the mechanistic approaches we have built in health care to survive, don't work anymore?"

I am thinking about this question a lot, because I am organizing over the next 6-9 months a magazine issue designed to look at the micro and macro picture of health, so I would also value your thoughts or anything you would like to contribute to bring to this dialogue.

I often remark that the ladies at the Department of Motor Vehicles are nicer than many receptionists/nurses at local doctors' offices. Why do they appear so put out that you call for an appointment or call with a concern? Busy or not, rude behavior is never acceptable. When consumer driven healthcare gets into full gear this type of behavior will not be tolerated. Paying customers will not stand for it.